


Ezra's Long Holiday

by Guardian_of_Hope



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Clone Wars, Coming of Age, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Growing Up, Jedi padawans, Time Travel, ezra takes a holiday, search rescue and retrieval, unexpected trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-16 03:38:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13627827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_of_Hope/pseuds/Guardian_of_Hope
Summary: Ezra wanted a day off after their mission to Stygeon Prime, and an interesting find in the markets on Lothal provides him with an interesting opportunity.





	1. An Interesting Purchase

Ezra sighed in relief as they landed in the fields outside Capital City.  After the past few days he was looking forward to spending some time on his own before Kanan started his so-called real Jedi training.  He had some impressive bruises from Stygeon Prime that he hoped would be less stiff and painful with some more time to heal.  Getting Force tossed by that Inquisitor had been an interesting lesson in humanity’s lack of aerodynamics and also in how easy a human could bruise when they’re thrown into things like walls.

He was packing his bag for a day in the city when the door to the room opened.

“You’re still here,” Zeb said.

“Don’t worry, I’m leaving,” Ezra replied, he checked the charge on his wrist unit and resolved to get extra power packs for it while he was out.  He tossed his pack over his shoulder and jumped off his bunk.  “All yours.”

“Good,” Zeb retorted.

Ezra brushed past Zeb, and then turned as the door opened to add, “If Kanan asks, I went into the city for a bit.”

“Whatever,” Zeb replied as he dropped onto his bunk.

Ezra was pleased he didn’t run into anyone else on his way out.  Zeb had proven himself to be indifferent to Ezra unless it was needed for a mission or if there was something Zeb deemed entertaining.  Hera seemed to be trying to become his mother or something and Sabine either didn’t notice him unless he tried to get her attention, which he probably did more than he should, or she was far too aware of him exactly when he didn’t want her to be.  Kanan, well, Kanan would probably make another half-hearted attempt at some lesson or other out of misguided obligation.

Instead, Ezra was free to run across the fields and into the city, [his] feet finding the old and familiar paths into the market district almost without thought.  As he reached the edge of the square, he grinned.  It looked like some poor sucker had had his ship raided .  Neevan and Amara had their booth up, and they only opened when their boss collected ships for debts.

Ezra stopped only to pick up some extra power packs for his sling shot, before going to inspect the goods.

“Bridgy!”  Amara said with a bright smile as she flipped her violet curls over her shoulder, “up to no good again?”

“Maybe,” Ezra said with a smirk, “Anything good?”

“It’s all good,” Amara said.  “If you can pay for it.”

Ezra glanced at Naveen, but the Twi’lek was focused on the people walking through the square, not him.  Then he slipped his hand in his jacket and pulled out some credits, “I’m having a good month.  Show me what you got.”

Amara gestured, “Sure Kid, how’s your slingshot working out for you anyways?”

“Never better,” Ezra replied as he put the credits away, “I told you I could make it work.”  He ducked behind the booth to a set of small crates that Amara was opening.  He’d found the slingshot here a few years ago, it had taken some repairs and tweaks to get it working, but it hadn’t let him down.  And having a non-lethal weapon made him less of a threat when he did cross Imperial radar.

Today, the first two crates were full of the kind of tech Ezra wished he could work with; the stuff he would have to break before he knew enough to work with it.  The third crate, however, had some very familiar looking items and he knelt to poke through the crate, trying to look uninterested in the quartet of decorated boxes.  He picked one up and hefted it, as if judging the weight.

“Pretty, aren’t they?”  Amara asked.

Ezra shrugged, “I guess.  How much you want for them?”

“You want something pretty?”  Amara asked.

Ezra gave her a helpless grin, “I know met a girl, she’s kind of an artist.”

Amara laughed, “Ten credits each.”

“Forty credits?  For some decorations?  Are you trying to rob me?”  Ezra said, “Twenty.”

“I have a quota too,” Amara said, “Thirty-five.”

Ezra weighed the box, then looked inside the crate again, hearing a chiming noise.  After a moment, he realized it wasn’t his ears that were hearing it.  He set aside the box he was still holding, adding the others to the first beside the crate, and then pulled out a pair of crystals from the crate that practically sang as the sunlight hit them.  He closed his hand and turned to Amara, who was watching him with a raised eyebrow.

“Fifty credits, the boxes and the two crystals.”

Amara considered him for a moment, and then reached into the box and pulled out another device, that had a metalwork design like the  cubes, but was shaped like one of the gambling dice people used and about the size of both of his fists combined.  As he looked at it, he also became aware of it humming in the Force.

“Fifty-five,” Amara said softly, “and I never saw you today.  Neither did Neevan.”

Ezra bit his lip, then nodded, “Deal.”

They put the holocrons in his pack, along with the crystals.  The final one, the icosahedron form, he took in his hand, trying to understand why it resonated in the Force.

“You’d better go,” Neevan grunted from the front of the booth, “Stormies.”

Ezra knew he’d better not get caught with Jedi artifacts, it was the sort of thing that got you killed by the Empire.  He shifted to give Amara a hug and then ducked out the back of the booth, darting behind two others stalls and into an alleyway.  This one had a pile of crates that gave him easy access to the roof where he could take the time to study his find.  He made sure he was out of  sight before putting the object down in front of him and reaching out in the Force.

The object shuddered in response and then lifted into the air, its many corners twisting like Kanan’s holocron did, and some of them detached from the object to float around it while it began to glow from within.

The glow began to pulse, once, twice, and then he was covering his face against a light too bright to withstand.

 


	2. Captured

When Ezra was aware of the world again, he had to blink black spots out of his eyes.  Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with his ears.

“What’s a kid doing out here?”

“I don’t know, sir.”

Ezra looked up, saw white helmets and reacted, first by scrambling back into a wall and then by opening fire.  The electric shots splashed against the stormtrooper’s armor, and Ezra took off running, only to be grabbed from behind before he’d made it more than a dozen steps.

“Let me go,” Ezra demanded.

“How ‘bout, no,” replied his captor who pulled on Ezra’s pack hard enough to make him stumble back against the stormtrooper.  The trooper’s other arm came across his chest and Ezra shoved at his arm, grunting as he tried to free himself.

“Kid’s got some fight in him,” one of the troopers said.

Ezra glanced around as he struggled, and his eyes fell on some crates on the wall cross from him.  The lids had already been removed and were lying around them.  His captor lifted him in the air and made a quick decision, letting his weight fall on the man’s arm and reaching out in the Force.  One of the lids lifted into the air and came flying forward, smacking one of the surrounding troopers in the back before coming for the one holding Ezra.

“He’s a Jedi,” one of the troopers said, as Ezra’s captor dodged the flying lid.

“Let me go,” Ezra said trying to throw his weight and make his captor stumble.

It worked a little too well, sending them both to the ground.  Ezra scrambled to his feet as the lid fell to the ground, freezing at a second thumping noise that heralded the loss of two holocrons.  Ezra leaped forward to collect the two loose holocrons and then took off, stumbling, but managing to keep the holocrons in his grip.  He took a quick look back as he heard footsteps.

That was a mistake.

Ezra grunted as he ran into, and then fell onto, someone coming into the ally.  He stared at the woman below him, stunned.  She was older, and pretty, with green skin and black tattoos on her face, and there was something very familiar about her.  Ezra rolled off the woman and lunged for one of the holocrons that he’d dropped, only for it to go flying in the air before he could touch it.  Ezra looked up to find a second green skinned ad tattooed woman standing over him, the holocrons settling in her palm.

Ezra scrambled to his feet, only to find his arm again caught by the stormtrooper.  “Let me go!”  Ezra said, “and give that back, it’s mine!”

“Commander?”  The woman Ezra had knocked over said as she stood up.

“The kid appeared out of nowhere,” Ezra’s captor replied as he plucked Ezra’s slingshot off his arm, “He tried to shoot Cooker and Dent with this, it’s some kind of pulse shooter.  And those fell out of his pack.”

“He also made that lid move,” one of the others said.  “Is he a Jedi, General?”

The two women looked at him and Ezra scowled back.

“What’s your name?”  The older woman asked.

“Jabba the Hutt,” Ezra retorted as he twisted his arm, trying to get free of the stormtrooper’s grip.

The younger woman covered her smile, and his captor snorted.  “Yeah right,” one of the other stormtroopers muttered.

“Look, I don’t know what you think I did,” Ezra said, “but I promise you I didn’t do anything.”

The older woman gave him a tight-lipped smile, “I highly doubt that.”  She held out her hand and the other holocron floated up to her.

“Those are mine,” Ezra said quickly, “they’re some art pieces, for my girlfriend.”

“Are you even old enough to have a girlfriend?” one of the stormtroopers asked.

Ezra yanked on his arm, glaring at the trooper, “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Perhaps not,” the woman said, passing the holocron over to her partner.  “Barriss, Gree, escort our guest to Command.  The Force here is interesting, I would like to study it.”

“Cooker, Dent, stay here,” his captor ordered, and two of the troopers saluted.  “Commander Offee, I follow you.”

“Let me go,” Ezra growled, trying again to free his arm as the woman with the holocrons headed off.  “You’re hurting me.”

“Stop fighting, and you’ll stop being hurt,” the trooper replied.  “Now move.”  He pushed Ezra forward.

Ezra walked forward, glaring at his captor until he tripped again.  Then he looked around, and nearly halted as a truth he hadn’t wanted to admit now slammed into him firmly.  This was not Lothal.

“Keep moving, kid,” the trooper said.

Ezra shook his head slightly, moving forward haltingly, trying to figure out where they were.  He’d never left Lothal, not until the _Ghost_ had taken him.  There had been some attempts, attempts he didn’t exactly remember, but this was like nothing he’d ever seen before.

“What’s your real name?”

“Huh?”  Ezra glanced around in surprise.  The woman had dropped back to fall in step with him and his captor.

“Your real name, it’s not Jabba,” she said with an encouraging smile.

“Does it matter?”  Ezra asked, “You’re going to dump me in a cell either way.”

“Why would we do that?”  The woman said.

“That’s what stormtroopers do,” Ezra said, glaring at his captor.

“What’s a stormtrooper?”  His captor asked.

“What,” Ezra planted his feet, only to stumble when the man kept walking, “You are a stormtrooper.”

“No,” the man stopped and turned to him, “I’m a _clone_ trooper, Commander CC-1004, Gree, of the 41 st Elite, Grand Army of the Republic; under Jedi General Luminara Unduli and Commander Barriss Offee.”

“Look, I may not know what planet I’m on, but everyone knows the Republic’s dead,” Ezra replied as a growing sense of dread overcame him.  “There’s no Grand Army anymore, _Commander._   Whatever scam you’re trying to pull, it’s not going to work.”

“This is no scam,” the woman insisted.

Ezra laughed bitterly, “You should have checked the ISB reports before you tried to pull this, _lady._   I already know it’s a scam.  Your friend the Grand Inquisitor already gave the game away.”

“What are you talking about?”  Gree asked.

“Jedi Master Luminara Unduli is dead.”  Ezra replied firmly, glaring at the pair of them.


	3. Reality

“I assure you, I am not.”  Ezra looked over his shoulder to the older lady coming out of the alleyway, carrying the icosahedron in her hand.  “I believe this has the answer to both of our questions.  Ezra Bridger.”

Ezra’s eyes widened, “How?”

The lady smiled, “The Force is a gateway to much knowledge.”  She held out a very familiar metallic case, “I also found this.”

Ezra flushed at the site of the ID case that held all of his personal documents.  He kept meaning to put the case somewhere safe on the _Ghost,_ but something always came up.

“Now, I think we have some very specific questions that need to be answered, Ezra Bridger,” the lady said, “I am Jedi General Luminara Unduli, and I think the proper statement is, I’m not dead yet.”

“You’re either dead, or you’re not,” Ezra said, “and Luminara Unduli is dead.  I saw her body.”

“Maybe you did,” the lady said, holding out the icosahedron, “but Ezra, do you know what this is?”

Ezra shrugged, “It hums, I know that.”

“It’s a Force artifact,” the lady said, “ancient Jedi created these as expressions of the Force, to focus it to accomplish many amazing things.  Like traveling through time.”

“Time travel?”  Ezra scoffed, “That’s not possible.”

“Neither is making objects move without touching them,” the lady said, “not without the Force.”

“General?”  Ezra’s captor said.

“Let him go, Commander Gree,” the lady said.  “Ezra isn’t going to run just yet.”

Ezra stepped away as soon as his arm was free and began to pull his sleeve straight.  “Time travel isn’t possible, okay?  It’s just not.”

“Master, why time travel?”  The other woman said.

The lady shifted the icosahedron so that a different part of it became visible, “Because of this.”

“It’s just some decorations,” Ezra said, “it could mean anything.”

“They’re runes,” the woman said, “it reads ‘time is a two-way path through which all secrets are revealed’.”

Ezra scoffed, “Sure it does.  Say I believe you that they are runes, they could say anything.”

“You can’t read them?”

“No,” Ezra said.

“An overview of the ancient languages is a mandatory class at the Temple,” the younger lady said.

“What Temple?”  Ezra asked.

“The Jedi Temple,” Unduli replied.  “Did you not study at the temple?”

Ezra scoffed, “There is no temple, it fell a long time ago. There aren’t any Jedi left either, except people like Kanan, and me, I guess.”

The younger lady gasped, and the troopers all jerked back, but Unduli remained impassive.  Ezra had to admit, she had a very impressive Sabacc face.

“This is not a conversation for the middle of the street,” Unduli said, “Ezra, we will do our best to assist you in returning to your time and place, but for now, please, come with us.”

“Can I have my stuff back?”  Ezra asked, eyeing Gree.

“Yes,” Unduli said.  “Commander, Barriss, if you would.”

Gree handed over the slingshot reluctantly, and Ezra fitted it in place before he took the holocrons from Barriss and put them in his backpack.

“You can hang on to that thing,” Ezra told Unduli, “at least until we get this figured out.”

“You said you bought them,” Barriss said.

Ezra shrugged, “One of the smuggling bosses took a ship for a debt and was selling off their possessions.  My friend runs the booth when they do that, so she let me look at the special stuff.  It’s usually expensive tech, or oddball pieces, like my slingshot.”

“I understand that we all have questions,” Unduli said, “but we must get back to command.  I do not trust this quiet.”

“Why, where are we?” Ezra asked.

“This is Alsaiir,” Barriss said, “City of Anahaldi.  We just finished driving the Separatists off, but there’s always a chance for an ambush.”

“Good to know,” Ezra muttered, fingering his slingshot.  Separatists, clone troopers, it was beginning to sound a lot like one of the stories his mother had told him when he was little.  The ones he wasn’t supposed to ever talk about.  He could remember how he’d felt, being six and his mom telling him he was ready to have a secret all his own, something to be kept between the two of them.  He very carefully didn’t think about what he’d overheard that had led to those stories.

“That slingshot of yours any good against clankers?”  Gree asked suddenly.

“What are clankers?”  Ezra asked.

“Droids,” Unduli said.

“Oh,” Ezra said, “um, probably not?  It’s supposed to be non-lethal.  Imps won’t go after you half as hard if you aren’t, you know, actually killing stormtroopers.”

“You any good with a blaster, then?”  Gree asked.

“I have never handled a blaster in my life,” Ezra replied, “I’m fourteen.”

They rounded a corner and before them was what had once probably been a market square or gathering place.  It was now filled with short legged, long bodied vehicles, stacks of supplies, and pre-fab, temporary buildings that made Ezra think of Tarkan Town.  Then he noticed the space was filled with more of the white armor wearing troopers.  His hand dropped down to rest on his slingshot, his steps slowing.

“Come on kid,” Gree snapped.

“No Commander,” Unduli replied, softly.  She paused, “Why don’t you see to making sure one of the one-man bunks is made available for Ezra?”

“Yes sir,” Gree said, unhappily before stalking off.

“Sorry,” Ezra murmured.

“It’s all right,” Unduli said, “from the way you reacted earlier, I gathered you are not very comfortable around the troopers?”

“It’s the armor,” Ezra said, “it looks just like stormtrooper armor.  No one sane walks into a large group of stormtroopers, not for any good reason.”

“Well, these men will not shoot you,” Barriss said, “Don’t let Gree scare you.”

“I’m not afraid,” Ezra snapped, “I’m just not stupid either.”  He stalked forward, “Let’s get to wherever you want us to be.”

They walked through the camp together, with Unduli guiding them to a small pre-fab building that was situated between the two largest.

“This is our command post for Green Company,” Unduli said as they approached, “this is one of several outposts of the 41st Elite.  Barriss and I have quarters here, as will you.  We intend to be on planet for another few days, to ensure that the Separatists do not come back, and then we will figure out where to send you.”

“If I’m still here,” Ezra muttered.  He glanced at Unduli, “Jedi, people with the Force, they can have visions, right?  What if that’s what this is, a vision?”

“We cannot prove or disprove that theory,” Unduli said, “and so we should act as if this is real until proven otherwise.  Be mindful of the present, youngling, do not center on your anxieties.  Your focus determines your reality.”

“Kanan told me that one,” Ezra said, “but I don’t understand it, real is real.”

“Yes, but how you view reality can change,” Unduli said, “did not your opinion of Gree change when you learned he was not a stormtrooper?”

“A little,” Ezra admitted after a minute, “I mean, I think he’d at least hesitate before he shot me, and he’d probably have a really good reason if he did.”  Kanan hadn’t been able to explain that very well, not that he seemed good at explaining a lot of things.

“Is Kanan your master?” Barriss asked.

“I’m not a slave,” Ezra snapped back.  He knew what she meant, but, he really hated that word.  Then he relented, “Kanan, Kanan Jarrus, is my teacher, yes.  We don’t, we don’t really use those words though.  It attracts too much attention.”

“I don’t know of a Jedi named Kanan Jarrus,” Unduli said as they entered the small building.

“He was Depa Billaba’s Padawan,” Ezra said, “before.  I think, I think he changed his name when the Order fell.”  He tried not to think about the Inquisitor, about the things that had been said in Stygeon.  Instead he turned to look around the place, it wasn’t big, but most of it was an open space with a table at the center of it.

“So,” Ezra said carefully, “what now?”

“Now we try and answer some of those questions we all have.”  Unduli replied, setting the artifact in the center of the table.  “Then we figure out how to get you home.”


	4. Chapter 4

“So, where do we start?”  Bridger asked after he finished settling into his chair.

Luminara thought the boy was endearing, if half-feral.  There was something about him, it wasn’t obvious in a first glance, but when you looked a second time, at the thread bare clothing, the shoes that were a little too big for him, the propensities for glares and violence.  Whatever this boy came from, it was in no way a kind world, and he didn’t expect it to be.

“Aren’t you curious about where you have ended up?”  Luminara asked.

“This is the Clone Wars,” Ezra replied, “before the Empire.  Before the Order fell.  I’m not sure when during the Clone Wars, Kanan and Hera don’t talk about it much, and my mom had just started telling me about it before,” he stopped, clearly uncomfortable with that train of thought.

“Who is Hera?”  Barriss asked.

Ezra shrugged, “She’s the Captain of the _Ghost._   I think her last name is Syndulla.  She’s also Kanan’s, uh, something.  Partner?”

Hera Syndulla, Luminara thought.  She knew of a Cham Syndulla, he had recently come up in the Ryloth reports as a key figure in the battles there.  When she contacted the Council, she’d put in a request for information on the matter.

“Jedi aren’t supposed to be attached,” Barriss was saying when Luminara refocused on the conversation.

“Maybe that’s part of why there aren’t any more Jedi,” Ezra replied, “We’re strongest when we stand together.  The Specters wouldn’t have made it out of Stygeon Prime if we couldn’t work together.”

Someone pounded on the door to the post, and then opened it.

“Commander Gree,” Luminara said, standing.

“You were right, sir,” Gree said, saluting, “Blue and White Company are reporting a Separatist attack on the western outskirts.  Captain Lux is asking for back-up against SBDs and tanks.”

“Get Green Company together and moving,” Luminara ordered, she turned, “Barriss, I’m sorry Padawan, but I need you to stay here with Ezra.  Gree, leave a squadron here.  This may be a diversion.”

“Understood sir,” Gree said, he saluted and left.

“But Master,” Barriss said, echoed by Ezra’s own protest.

“Padawan Bridger,” Luminara said, noting that Ezra started and looked mutinous, but fell silent, “You admit yourself that you have no defense against the Separatist’s droid army.  You are under my protection for now.  This may be a distraction, an attempt for a different prize.  Barriss, stay here in camp for as long as the situation is tenable.  If you must, try to make it to the _Defender_ first, and then to Yellow Company.”

“I understand” Barriss said finally, with a seated bow.

“I don’t,” Ezra muttered, slumping back in his chair.

Luminara glanced at Barriss, who put her hand on Ezra’s shoulder with a nod.  Luminara left.  Her Padawan was more than capable of explaining things to their temporal visitor.


	5. Chapter 5

Barriss Offee was the worst Padawan.  Her master had just left to fight, and she was grateful that she wasn’t going.  True, she had to sit with the strange boy who had appeared from the future, but it was so much better than fighting.

“I still don’t get it,” Ezra announced.

Barriss sighed, “Master Luminara is worried that the attack is a cover.  Your arrival wasn’t exactly quiet, Ezra Bridger.”

Ezra looked stunned, “ _Me?_ You think someone would, I’m just, I’m a _loth-rat,_ a thief, nothing- I’m not, not important.”

Barriss wanted to ask so many questions, “Ezra, you’re a Jedi Padawan, you are carrying a Force Artifact that could rightfully be deemed as priceless, and holocrons.  Even if that assassin only knew there was a Force explosion, not who came through, she’d be coming.  The fact that you’re a time traveler, the knowledge you might have, you’re very valuable.”

“I don’t know anything,” Ezra said, blushing and staring at the table.  “I, my formal education stopped when I was seven.”

Barriss bit her lip, wishing her Master was still here.  Luminara was good at finding the right words for these things.  Finally, she reached over and put her hand on Ezra’s.  When Ezra looked at her, Barriss managed a smile.

“Ezra, I want you to think for a moment.  Think of what you do know, of the Empire, and stormtroopers, the loss,” she hesitated, but forced herself to say it, “the loss of the Order.  That, if the Separatists could learn about that, this, this stupid war, it would change.  It could become worse, not better.  That knowledge, it is valuable.  You are also of value, because you are a Padawan, and your age and lack of training can make you vulnerable to the Dark Side.”

“Like that Inquisitor,” Ezra said, something in his eyes that made Barriss shiver.  “I don’t want to be like that. I- Maybe I don’t see the Jedi Kanan says I can be, but, I don’t want to be like.”  He shook his head sharply.

“That is why we stayed,” Barriss said.  “It’s safer.  No matter what’s happening, you just stay with me.  I’ll get you out of here, I promise.”

“I can handle myself if need be,” Ezra said with a shrug.

There was a whistling chirrup, and one of the local scavengers leaped onto the table.

“Oh honestly,” Barriss began, before trailing off to watch.

The small, red and black mammal crept up to Ezra, ears pricked.  Ezra, for his part, had straightened up, watching the mammal.  The creature bent down to sniff Ezra’s hand, then nudge it.  After a moment, Ezra carefully reached out to run his hand of the creature’s head, scratching behind the ears.

“Hey little one,” Ezra said as the creature pushed its head into his hand.  “What are you?”

“That is a rusfulgen,” Barriss said, “a local creature, scavenger for the most part.”  She paused, “They get into everywhere.”

“Rusfulgen,” Ezra repeated, “that’s a mouthful.  How about I just call you Rusty?”

The rusfulgen chirruped again, bumping Ezra’s hand with his head.

Barriss watched for a moment, and realized that Ezra wasn’t just touching the creature, but that the Force was flowing between them.  It was the sort of connection that she sometimes struggled with, but Ezra, she realized after a moment, Ezra was doing it on instinct.  They were communing, and Ezra probably didn’t even realize it.

There was a sharp knock on the door, and then Pulsar came in.  “Commander, we’ve got incoming.”

Barriss stood, “Show me, Sergeant.”  She paused, glancing at Ezra, “Ezra, you’d better come with us as well.  At least you can meet everyone.”

“All right,” Ezra said.

“First, Sergeant Pulsar, this is Padawan Ezra Bridger,” Barriss said.  Luminara had named him a Padawan, and while Barriss wasn’t sure she agreed with that, the title would give the men a place to slot him into, regardless of what else was going down.  “Ezra, this is Sergeant Pulsar.”

“Commander,” Pulsar said with a nod.

“Hi,” Ezra said with a little wave.  Barriss realized that the hesitation stemmed from Pulsar’s armor, and Ezra’s earlier claim that it resembled the armor of another group, one he stood against.  As they headed out of the building, Barriss quietly hoped that Ezra’s reticence wouldn’t lead to trouble for all of them.


	6. Chapter 6

There were tanks bearing down on them, Ezra realized as he settled his pack on his back.  They looked like an early version of the transports that the Empire used, a comparison that had him wishing for a better weapon than a damn slingshot.  He followed Barriss and the clone Sergeant to where a squad of clone troopers were gathering around crates filled with weapons.

“Commander Offee,” one of the men said.

“Scythe,” Barriss said, “Edge, Havoc, Ox.” She gestured to Ezra, “This is Padawan Ezra Bridger.”

Ezra knew that they were evaluating him, and he glared, back lifting his chin and refusing to be intimidated.

“Ezra has information that cannot fall into Separatist hands,” Barriss continued.  “Unfortunately, he has no lightsaber and no blaster training.”

Ezra cleared his throat and indicated his slingshot, “I have this, but, its non-lethal.  It was, safer.”

“Understood,” Pulsar said.  “Havoc, keep him close.”

“Sir,” protested one of the men.  He had a light grey spiral design on the inside of his arm, all that Ezra could see for identifying him.  It was more than Stormtroopers tended to have, though.

“Unless those ribs of yours have mysteriously become fully healed in the last four hours, you’re still under medical watch,” Pulsar said sharply.

“All right,” Havoc muttered, gesturing to Ezra, “stick with me kid.”

Ezra couldn’t help it, he eyed the guy, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.  Last time I had to trust someone to watch my back with that much resentment, he abandoned me to be captured by the enemy.”  He crossed his arms, “I busted myself out, of course.”

“I would never,” Havoc declared.

The thing was, Ezra knew that.  He knew this man was determined to do his duty, but he still remembered that look on Zeb’s face before he shut the air lock to the _Ghost._   They’d come back, but, Kanan was a Jedi.  Maybe Ezra didn’t understand the Force all that much, but his dad had told him that Jedi were good, they would help anyone in trouble.  Ezra was pretty sure that it had been _Kanan_ who had made them go back for him, out of duty.  Probably the same way he’d made those guards leave the cell on Stygeon Prime.

“Ezra,” Barriss said, “you can trust Havoc.”

Ezra scowled, moving aside when she reached for him.  “Whatever, where are we going?”

“The gunships,” Barriss said, pointing, “they’re in a field outside of town.”

“Past the tanks?”  Ezra asked dryly.

“Yes,” Barriss said.

For a moment, Ezra missed Sabine.  She knew the value of humor and sarcasm in a tense situation.  Ezra mentally snorted, the Specters on a mission communicated best in sarcasm.

“Commander Bridger,” Havoc began.

“Hey, no,” Ezra waved his hands, “don’t do that.”  He knew, he just knew that if they started that nonsense then this was going to be a short trip with a detour into captivity.  “It would be better for all concerned if they didn’t know I’m a Padawan.”

“Ezra,” Barriss said.

“Seriously,” Ezra said, “I get a really bad feeling at the idea.”

Barriss’s eyes widened slightly, clearly, she got what he wasn’t saying.

“What do we do then, Commander Offee?”  Pulsar asked.

“Treat me like a loth-rat,” Ezra said, before Barriss could say something, “a street rat.  Someone who didn’t evacuate when he should.  Nothing important.”  It was a role he knew best, one that suited him to the bones.  He paused, “Just, if you have to make it look good, be careful.”  He gave Havoc a pointed look, “You aren’t the only one with sore ribs here.  We can hobble to safety together.”

“Understood,” Havoc said.

“Let’s go,” Barriss said.  “They’ll be in range soon.”

The group headed for a street that led away from the tanks, with Ezra falling into step beside Havoc quickly.  He wasn’t going to trust the man not to abandon him when the chips were down, but he was pretty sure that he was better off with these clone troopers than he was with the Separatists.


	7. Chapter 7

Escaping the Separatists qualified as one of the most nerve-wracking experiences Ezra had experienced that didn’t involve a red lightsaber.  He spent most of it crouching behind things and following Havoc across open spaces, but in the end, they made it to the shuttle with the only casualty being a few stray bolts through the back of Barriss’s dress that nearly caused a fire if not for Pulsar’s quick thinking, and an arm wound for Edge.

Once they were on the ship, Ezra sat down, pressing a hand gently to his ribs as he tried not to breath to hard.

“Are you okay?”  Barriss asked.

“Bruised ribs,” Ezra replied.

“Right,” Barriss said, “I’m sorry.  Do you know how to heal them?”

“No,” Ezra shook his head slightly, “there hasn’t exactly been time for a lot of lessons.  Most of the ones we do have are about staying alive.”

Barriss nodded slightly, “I confess, I still have trouble grasping what your time is like, Ezra Bridger.  No Temple, no Jedi.”

“Well, the Specters do all right,” Ezra said, waving his hand slightly, “they may not be on the Imperial side of the law, but there’s food to eat, a warm place to sleep, and company.”

“They?”  Barriss asked.

“What?”  Ezra said, startled.

“You said they, not we,” Barriss replied.

Ezra shrugged slightly, “It’s still new, me being on the Ghost.  I’m not used to it.”

Barriss catches Ezra as the ship jerks to the side, making him go off balance, and then she releases a pained gasp.

“What?  Did I,” Ezra hesitated.

“No, but, Ezra,” Barriss said, her hand coming up to her mouth as she began to cry.

“What?”  Ezra asked.

“You’re so, so hurt,” Barriss said.

“No,” Ezra said, feeling his lip curl up, “I’m not.  I’m fine.”

The ship swung almost on it’s side and Ezra fell onto one of the clones, getting something jammed into one of the worst of his bruises.

“Ow,” he stated after he’d freed himself from the clone, Havoc.

“Commander?”  Pulsar said.

“It’s all right,” Barriss said, as she pulled a handkerchief from her dress and dabbed her eyes, “Empathic resonance.”

Ezra shook his head as he took note of how the clones were bracing himself, and then followed suit.  He didn’t need more bruises on his ribs.

Soon enough, the ship had landed, and the doors opened to reveal a larger ship.  Ezra looked around but kept himself from staring through sheer will power.  He’d learned a long time ago how to stare without staring, and the number of white armored figures around him was enough to make him fall back on those lessons.

Barriss, back in control of herself, led the way through the hanger bay and into a corridor.  “I’m not sure what Master Luminara has in mind,” she said as the noise from the hanger faded away, “but there are some diplomatic cabins near ours.  You can have the use of one.”

“Thanks,” Ezra managed, “you don’t have to do anything fancy.  I’m not exactly rolling in riches.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Barriss said, “this is what’s available, after all.  I’ll also take you by medical to get your ribs checked.”

“That’s not necessary,” Ezra said.

“If the resource is there, you should use it,” Barriss replied.  “Besides, I know our CMO.  If Bane finds out you’re injured, and you didn’t go to medical, we’ll all hear about it.  At volume.  In the kind of language that Master Luminara would rather I remain innocent of.  So, go to medical and save us all the trouble.”

“It’s not necessary,” Ezra said firmly.

“Yes, it is,” Barriss said, “I’m a senior Padawan and a Healer in training, and _I_ say it’s necessary.  You’re going if I have to take a page from Bane’s book and sedate you to make it happen.”

Ezra considered responding but couldn’t think of anything to say that didn’t involve the kind of language Barriss mentioned and decided that he’d find another way to get out of meeting the medic.


	8. Chapter 8

By some miracle, Ezra had escaped the Grand Inquisitor with bruises, but no real damage to his ribs or insides.  Vin, the medic who checked him over had been briskly efficient and competent, which Ezra definitely appreciated.  There was none of the overly handsy nature of the better of the two unlicensed medical people in Ezra’s part of Capital City.  Ezra shuddered at the memory of that, but up until lately it had been within the bounds of acceptable compared to the perpetually drunk disaster that also mascaraed as the second medical person in the backstreets of Capital City.

If either of the medical people available had been like Vin, Ezra wouldn’t have started self-medicating by the time he was eleven.

“Ezra,” Barriss said as she came into the infirmary.

Ezra smiled a little, to show no hard feeling over how he’d ended up there, “Hey Barriss.  All done.”

“Are you sure about that?”  Barriss asked.

“Yeah, nothing broken, just some bruises,” Ezra said.  “That’ll be fun tomorrow.”

“Indeed,” Barriss said, “Master Unduli wishes for you to go to Coruscant, to speak to the Jedi Council.”

The drop in his stomach was almost as devastating as when Kanan had said Luminara Unduli would be his teacher.  He tightened his jaw and straightened the hem of his shirt.  “I don’t know what she expects me to tell them.  I don’t know anything.”

“You know more than you think,” Barriss replied, “just trust yourself.”

“Bridger, what are you doing?”

Ezra turned, blinking as Vin approached, “Getting ready to leave?”

“I’m not done with you just yet,” Vin said, eyes narrowing, “you denied the painkiller.”

Ezra crossed his arms, “And?”

“But you popped your stitches,” Vin said, “and those should be taken care of.”

“Yeah,” Ezra said, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You know, I could do it, I mean, I’m right here and I’ve got what I need,” Vin said.

Ezra eyed him for a moment.

“No hypos either,” Vin added, leaning forward, “just a topical gel that numbs the skin and takes care of any infection might have, and a bit of bacta to speed up the healing.”

Ezra tilted his head slightly, and Barriss cleared her throat pointedly.

“Fine,” Ezra said, “but if you try to hypo me, I _will_ make you regret it.”

“No worries, Bridger,” Vin said, “just get settled.”

Ezra settled back down and sighed.

Barriss took a seat on the chair by the bed as Vin started working on the stitches, “So, why do you hate medical so much?”  Barriss asked.

“I don’t hate it,” Ezra said, glancing at Vin’s hands and then away, “I don’t trust it.  Not since the- the Empire started cracking down on Lothal.  I grew up on the streets, but until I was ten there were people, clinics, that didn’t look too hard at folks who came for care.  They just helped.”  He clinched his hand and made himself relax it away, “Then the Empire started mining, or increased their mining, and people didn’t like that.  Imperial propaganda being what it is, I don’t know what really happened, but the Empire came down on us hard.  Before, you’d have to go into Capital City, or Jalaf maybe, to find more than a couple of government officials.  Now, there’s garrisons, patrols in every city worth the name, and the clinics that didn’t comply to Imp standard were shut down and the doctors and nurses and medical droids were taken away.  I learned how to do my own first aid rather than trust the people who work unlicensed, it’s safer.”

“You did this yourself?”  Vin said.

“Well, yeah,” Ezra said, “I know it’s not the best, but I did what I had to.”

“I’ve seen worse,” Vin said.  “But shouldn’t your Master.”

“Kanan has other things to worry about than bumps and bruises,” Ezra replied.

Vin glanced over at Barriss, an odd expression on his face, then held up a bandage, “You’re almost done, Commander.”

“Please don’t,” Ezra muttered, holding still for the bandage.

“Better get used to it,” Barriss said, “You’ll keep hearing it.”

“Did you get used to it,” Ezra retorted as he pulled his clothes back into place.

“I did,” Barriss said, standing up, “Now, let’s go see about something to eat.”

“I could eat,” Ezra agreed.

Vin held him long enough to give him a list of warnings about his bruises and the stitches, which Ezra listened to enough to hear what was different from the information he’d scrounged up, and then Barriss took him to get food.

The dining hall wasn’t crowded, which Ezra thought was a shame, from the way Barriss kept looking at him, she clearly had something to say.

“What?”  Ezra finally asked.

“Sorry,” Barriss said, “it’s just, why did it hurt you, when I told you my Master wished for you to go to Coruscant.”

“It’s nothing,” Ezra replied.

“Clearly not,” Barriss said.

“You don’t have to worry about it,” Ezra said.  “It’s just feelings, okay, it’s not important.”

“Ezra, I’m trying to be your friend,” Barriss said, gently, “you can tell me.”

Ezra tapped his plate with his fork a moment and then sighed, “So, there’s this Senator, Gall Trayvis, he’s gone in exile so he can broadcast information about the Empire, secret stuff.  He uses the Empire’s own network against them, to hide his location.  The first time I ever heard him, he gave a report about Master Unduli, that she was alive and imprisoned.  When Kanan heard, his first response was to announce his intent to dump me on her, that she could teach me.”

“Oh,” Barriss said.

“The whole mission to rescue her, Kanan talked about how Master Unduli would be some perfect teacher for me.  Then, we found out it was a trap.”  Ezra ducked his head slightly, “She was dead, but they still used her name to trap Jedi.  When we got out, I told Kanan he didn’t have to teach me if he was so against it, but he said he wanted to.  I should be used to it though, I know I wear out my welcome pretty fast.”

“I doubt it was that.”

Ezra jumped as Master Luminara sat down beside him.

“Master Luminara,” Ezra said.

“My apologies, Ezra Bridger.  I had not meant to overhear, but perhaps it’s for the best that I did.”  Master Luminara said.

“What do you mean, for the best?”  Ezra said, suspiciously.

“Your master was not dumping you,” Master Luminara said, “even if he had tried, I would not have accepted.  You said your master was a Padawan when the Order fell.”

“Yeah, so?”  Ezra said.

“I imagine that finishing his training was nearly impossible,” Master Luminara said, “from what little you’ve told us, I would say that he doubts _himself._   His training being cut off, without the usual classes and duties that help Padawans become Knights who train Padawans.”

“It’s like trying to teach someone to fly a star fighter when all you’ve ever learned to handle as a speeder bike,” Barriss offered shyly.

“So what’s to stop him from dumping me on another Jedi?”  Ezra said.

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Master Luminara said, “that’s considering that any Jedi Knight worth her training wouldn’t accept it.  Knights don’t offer to teach Padawans unless they’re sure that it’s the right thing to do.”

Ezra nodded, “Do you really think so?”

“I do,” Master Luminara said.  “Let your Master know what you need, and trust that he’ll help you.”

Ezra wasn’t sure how to tell them he didn’t think trust would come that easily.  Instead, he took a bite of the surprisingly good food as an excuse to keep his silence.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last Chapter! Little excited and a little sad, but I hope you enjoyed the ride.

Ezra opened his eyes and jerked back.

Kanan was crouched in front of him, “Ezra,” he said, sounding panicked.

“Kanan?”  Ezra said.  He looked around, “what, what happened?”

“You tell me,” Kanan said, “Sabine found you up here with that artifact.”

Ezra looked at his hands, “Where?”

“She took it back to the Ghost,” Kanan replied.  “What happened to you?”

“I don’t know,” Ezra said, “I, Kanan, I saw something, I think.”

Kanan settled on his knees, “What did you see, Padawan.”

Ezra bit his lip and glanced up at Kanan, “It was like I was there.  It was a planet called Alsaiir, and there were clone troopers, the, the 41st Elite of the Grand Army of the Republic.  I meet someone called Commander Gree, and Master Luminara and her Padawan Barriss Offee.”

“Ezra,” Kanan said.  “That’s quite a vision.”

“Yeah,” Ezra said.  He shifted and winced.

“Ezra?”  Kanan said.

“My back’s sore,” Ezra admitted after a moment.  “Just bruises.”  He looked at his bag, “So I found some interesting things in the market today.  Not just that, that thing.”

“Ezra,” Kanan said.

“I’m not joking, Vin,” Ezra stopped, “Vin, one of the 41st medics checked me over.”  He paused, “Sorry, it was in the vision.”

Kanan nodded slightly, “I’m sure it must be confusing right now, but…”

“Your focus determines your reality,” Ezra said, “I think I understand that better.”  He frowned and pointed at Kanan, “That doesn’t mean I agree that Master Unduli would have been a better teacher for me than you.  I don’t want anyone else.”

“I’m not giving you up,” Kanan said after a moment, “Not- not like that.”

Ezra bit his lip, then took a deep breath.  “It happened before.  Not, not Jedi training, but there was someone who acted like they’d help me.  As soon as they started hearing the, the stories, about me, and my parents, they vanished.  Good enough to put to work, but not good enough to keep.”

“Oh Ezra,” Kanan said, “Is that what,” he held out his hand, looking wounded, “That isn’t what I was thinking _at all._   You, you’re going to be an _amazing_ Jedi, and I want that for you.  I just, sometimes, I’m not sure I can teach you everything you need to know.”

Ezra reached into his pack and pulled out the holocrons, “Maybe these can help?  I found them with that, that thing.”

“Where?”  Kanan said.

“One of the local bosses took someone’s ship for a debt and sold off the contents,” Ezra replied, “I know the people who run the booth, and they let me look.”  He reached in and dug out the two crystals, “I also found these.”

Kanan took one of the crystals looking awed, “Ezra, these are kyber crystals.”

“What’s a kyber crystal?”  Ezra asked.

“Lightsaber crystal,” Kanan replied.  His eyes were unfocused as the crystal lifted into the air, hovering over his palm and glowing a soft green.  After a moment he blinked, and the crystal dropped into his hand.  “If, if I read that right,” he glanced at Ezra, “this crystal belonged to Master Luminara.”

“No way,” Ezra said, “and the other one?”

“I don’t think this is the best place for this,” Kanan said, “not after that Inquisitor showed up.  Let’s go back to the Ghost and figure this out, okay?”

“Okay Kanan,” Ezra said.

“And we’ll look at your bruises,” Kanan added as he stood up, “vision or no, at least humor me.”

“No hypos and we’re good,” Ezra replied.

They shared a speeder back to the Ghost, where Hera was waiting for them on the ramp, looking anxious.

Kanan embraced her gently, “He’ll be okay, Hera.  Can you have Zeb meet us in the med bay though?  Someone didn’t self-report injuries.”

“Why Zeb?”  Ezra asked as he followed them onto the Ghost.

“Zeb was part of the Lasan Honor Guard,” Kanan said, “He’s got more medical training than the rest of us, including a Class Two emergency medical certificate.”

“Meaning,” Ezra said carefully.

“Means I have a better chance to keep you alive if you get hurt,” Zeb announced as he approached.  “Who’s hurt anyways?”

“Ezra,” Kanan said.  “He was trying to tell me it was just bruises.”

“It’s just bruises when I say it’s just bruises,” Zeb said, “come on kid.  Get in the infirmary and get your top off.”

“No hypos,” Ezra said, pointing at Zeb.  “No shots at all.”

Zeb eyed him a long moment, “Kid.”

“No,” Ezra said, “I’ll explain later, if you’re desperate to know, but right now, that’s the line.”

“We’ll discuss it later,” Kanan agreed.  “Get looked at now.”

Ezra sighed a little and followed Zeb into the medical bay, untucking and pulling off his jacket and shirt as he entered, trying not to wince as stiff and bruised muscles objected.  Zeb was gentle enough that Ezra didn’t feel like flinching from every touch, even if there was something less experienced in his actions compared to Vin.

“What’s this bandage?”  Zeb asked.

Ezra glanced down at his side, at the bandage over his stitches and gasped. 

“Kanan!”  He shouted.

Kanan was there so fast Ezra thought he’d been hovering outside the door, “Ezra?”

“The bandage,” Ezra put his hand on it and half closed his eyes.  “During that episode with the TIE fighter.”

Kanan’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn’t say anything.

“I’m not sure what hit me, but it left a big cut,” Ezra said, hesitantly.  “I- I stitched it, myself.”

“You what?”  Zeb began.

“Let him speak,” Kanan said, a little sharply.  He gestured, “Go on.”

“In the vision, whatever it was, it was in the middle of the Clone Wars, and we had to get away from the Separatists, and it was a huge mess.  When they made me go to medical, Vin, their medic, noticed that I had popped two of the stitches, and offered to fix it.”  Ezra gestured, “That’s the bandage Vin put on it.  I got one out from here when I needed it.”

Sabine had picked up their medical supplies last time, Ezra had figured, the brightly colored bandages had seemed to be her style more than anyone else.

“What happened to me?”  Ezra said finally.

Kanan softened, “I don’t know Ezra, but we’ll figure it out.”  He carefully put his hand on Ezra’s arm and Ezra stilled, for once not feeling like he’d climb out of his skin to get away from a touch.  “We’ll do it together.”

Years later, Ezra would look back at that moment and know it was the true turning point to his relationship with Kanan Jarrus.

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in Season One of Rebels, after RIse of the Old Masters. For those familiar with my other works, Holiday will draw characters and events from my Search, Rescue, and Retrieval verse, although it is NOT a part of those events, as you will soon see.


End file.
